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Man arrested for allegedly abusing infant son

A South Charleston man is in jail after being accused of abusing his infant son in November.

Chester Perkins, 29, pleaded not guilty in Clark County Municipal Court Monday to counts of child endangering, assault and domestic violence. The charges are all misdemeanors.

The infant’s maternal grandparents called law enforcement officers when they noticed some bruises after picking him up from his father’s house on Nov. 25. Perkins is dating the child’s mother, but the grandparents have custody, according to court records.

David Hall said his grandson had bruising on his lips, shoulders, back and chest. The child was 5-weeks old at the time of the incident.

“How somebody can hurt a baby, I don’t understand. I don’t have a clue,” he said.

Perkins allegedly told family members and law enforcement officers the child rolled off the bed, and later amended that statement to claim he’d accidentally dropped the baby. However, in a detailed medical exam report obtained by the News-Sun, a doctor at Children’s Hospital in Dayton said the child’s injuries were inconsistent with either of those versions of events.

“It is my medical opinion that these bruises are the result of inflicted injury and child abuse,” the doctor wrote.

The baby was released back to his grandparents. The boy, who is 7-weeks-old now, is doing well, and they said they believe Perkins hurt the baby because he wouldn’t stop crying.

Perkins was arrested Dec. 6. He remains in the Clark County Jail in lieu of $12,000 bond.

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